Pickett students walk for cancer victims with hats

Friday

Oct 12, 2012 at 4:06 PM

Students at Pickett Elementary School walked outside Friday afternoon to support children with cancer.

BY DENEESHA EDWARDSThe Dispatch

Students at Pickett Elementary School walked outside Friday afternoon to support children with cancer.The school took part in the nationwide initiative by bringing in money the past couple of weeks to wear a hat in conjunction with the mission of Heavenly Hats — to share hope through hats. The official day for National Hat Parade was Friday."I want the students to understand there are children that have needs, and we can help them. It feels good to give to other people and give back to the community," said Gina Spencer, Pickett's principal. "I just think it's fun. It's kids helping kids. We felt like it was something good to do this month."The nonprofit organization collects and distributes hats to youths who lose their hair due to cancer treatments and other medical conditions that may cause hair loss. For the past 11 years, Heavenly Hats has distributed more than 1.2 million new hats to hundreds of hospitals and clinics around the United States, and thousands have been shipped to individuals. The organization hopes by providing hats to individuals and hospitals, patients will feel better about themselves while also encouraging them to keep fighting. It was created in 2001 by a 10-year-old.Taran Spirakus, a first-grade teacher, said the school wanted the students to be aware that children go through childhood illness and should be appreciative that they have hair. As a treat, Spirakus said the students were given the privilege to wear their hats all day. She said teachers have been speaking with students and encouraging them to be supportive of the cause. The school will be donating more than $300 to represent each child at the school."The parade creates a visual for the kids to see they are making a difference," she said.The hats are given at no charge to the patients. Donated money pays for the cost to cover shipping for the hats."It feels really good knowing you're helping somebody," said fifth-grader Haley Hunt.Rodrigo Aguilar, another fifth-grader, agreed, "There's a lot of people with cancer. I feel good because we're helping a lot of people."Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 213, or at deneesha.edwards@the-dispatch.com.